Table of Contents
LOCAL PRODUCTS.
CORFU SPECIALTIES
BEVERAGES
Ionian Wine Greek Beer. Greek Spirits.
Corfu, being an island, means much of the traditional Corfiot Food was an import, as are their influences. The Romans, French, and British have left their mark. Then the Venetians, and later Greeks put their personal touch on everything.
And where did the products begin? Well, the spices came from Asia on the boats of the first European spice trader, Marco Polo. He stops at Corfu before arriving home in Venice. He would introduce black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, and ginger.
From Spain came potatoes, corn, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, and more imported by Christopher Columbus from the new world.
Thanks to its location, Corfu is a stopping point for all ships coming from the Eastern Mediterranian. They are heading for Venice and other ports in the Ionian.
Garlic, onions, olive oil, and wine are, of course, an integral part of the Corfiot seasoning. Other herbs you will find in Corfiot cuisine are basil, dill, mint, and parsley. Lamb is the most popular meat on the island, and they fix it in several ways. Marinating beef, pork, and poultry, then grilling or baking it is also popular.
Taste Corfu Through Local Products.
P.D.O. (Protected Designation of Origin) products come from a specific area. They have characteristics due to that particular geoclimatic environment, and production takes place in that region.
P.G.I. (Protected Geographical Indication) products also come from a specified area. Only one of its characteristic needs to be from this area. Also, only one part of the production must take place in the region.
Corfu only has two local products (currently) that have P.G.I. Status. One is the domestic olive oil from Agios Mattheos village.
The other is the Koum Kouat Kerkyras. You might know it better as the Kumquat. An import from China in the 1800s, this member of the citrus family takes to the mild climate immediately. Today, they use it to make a local liqueur and spoon sweets (jam). You can also eat them fresh. The picking season is in May.
But many other products grow on Corfu. Thanks to regular rainfall, fertile soil, and a mild climate, the growing season is long.
The island is known for its olives, lemons, and tomatoes. Also, there are excellent wines, cereals, and honey. Sample the local dairy goods. Taste Corfu butter.
Corfu Specialties.
You will find the standard Greek items that appear on just about any Greek menu. However, the island has several traditional things that you will find nowhere else. Or at least their preparation and presentation. You’re on Corfu. Shouldn’t you taste Corfu?
Meze (appetizers)
Papalina – takes a sardine and coats it in flour before sauteing with onions.
Sausage and Salado
Noumboulo Fumicado – is a very popular Corfiot prosciutto using pork fillet that they pack with salt, pepper, and oregano. They then smoke it slowly.
Hiromeri Fumicado – is a ham that they smoke.
Bourdouni – is a famous blood sausage with pork fat, spices, garlic, and cloves. They fry it with onions and a dash of vinegar.
Corfiot Salado – is local salami with pork, beef, and seasoning that they smoke slowly.
Smoked pancetta – comes from the pork belly which they smoke with aromatic herbs
Corfiot Sweet Fruit Mustard – is a present from the British and Venetians. The mustard is the perfect combination of hot, (from mustard seed and peppercorns) and sweet from fruits. Taste Corfu mustard with the salame.
Local Cheese
Thanks to the island being able to support cows, sheep, and goats, Corfu has several excellent local kinds of cheese.
Feta – come from goat milk. Forget what you think of the taste of Feta. Try the real stuff. They also have a hot spicy version.
Manouri – is also from goat or sheep milk. It is a semi-soft, fresh, very white cheese similar to Feta but creamier.
Kefalotiri – comes from sheep or goat’s milk. It is a hard, dry light-yellow cheese with a sharp flavor dating from the Byzantine era. It is suitable for grating on pasta. (Greek parmesan).
Corfou – is from local cows milk. It has a slight tang. Legend says it was the Corfiot version of Italian pecorino after they left the island.
Tirokafteri – is a cheese spread that starts (usually) with Feta, yogurt, garlic, and olive oil. They add a little pepper to give it a little kick.
Ladotiri – begins with Feta, yogurt, garlic, and olive oil. Then they add chili flakes and bits of chili peppers. Have wine ready.
Pasta
Pasta is a favorite food in Corfu, but not necessarily because of the Venetians. Greeks were eating a form of pasta long before the Italians. They never took it to the level Italy did. Corfiots enjoy orzo, for its distinct rice-grain shape. They get it from Italy.
Pastitsio Dolce – begins with a meat sause containing veal, pork, chicken, sausage, ham, game birds, and white wine. They add spices, including cinnamon and cloves. They layer the sauce between layers of macaroni. Then sprinkle grated cheese and dill over the top before baking. (Think Corfu lasagna). Talk about a party in your mouth.
Meat
Lamb is traditionally the principal meat in Corfiot cooking. They also grill and roast it. Greek people love meat, and in Corfu, you will find different meats on every menu.
Pastitsado (pastitsada) – is a pasta dish with rooster or chicken in red wine and tomato sause. Every chef has a different sauce and different pasta that is the “only” one you can use. You can expect to see it on the table at family dinners.
Pork Dolcegarbo – consists of slow-cooking pork in onions, rosemary, and white wine.
Stoufado – starts with marinating chunks of veal in wine, onion, garlic, sage, rosemary, and thyme. (Anyone singing Simon and Garfunkel?) Then they brown the meat with pancetta before cooking it in the marinade. (You’re thinking about that song now, aren’t you?)
Sofrito – is one of the island’s most popular dishes. Sofrito means to fry slowly. Many countries have their version. In Italy, they slow-fry the beef with the trinity, onions, carrots, and celery. Spanish countries use onions, carrots, and green peppers. In Corfu, they may use veal instead of beef, and garlic, garlic, and more garlic. The Greek trinity is garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. They substitute white wine for the lemon juice. It is worth the breathe you will have in the morning.
Veal Fricando is probably from the French occupation via a recipe they get from Catalonia (Spain). It is a loin of veal, they cover in lard before braising, or roasting it slowly.
Figadelia – consists of pieces of liver that they season then wrap. They grill it slowly over charcoal.
Almost Vegetarian
Eggplant Pastrokio – is a dish of the poor people. They fry the eggplant and layer it with cheese, egg slices, pancetta, and salami. They cover it in tomato sause and bake.
Fish
Corfu is an island. There are different types of fish and seafood everywhere.
Bourdeto is a fish stew with today’s catch in a spicy red pepper and onion sauce. In the old day, it was old fish and lots of sauteed onion, paprika lemon juice, and vinegar.
Salt Cod – is probably the most popular local fish. They serve it with Aioli or Skordalia (Greek garlic and potato spread).
Bianco – is a cooking method they use with several different fish. Bianco means white, without tomato. They saute the fish in garlic, lemon juice, onions, and potatoes.
Savoro – is a sauce of oil, vinegar, raisins, garlic, and rosemary. You can pour over or use it as a dip for small fried fish.
Stakofisi – starts with air-drying cod. They then saute the fish in onions with a red pepper and tomato sauce.
Vegetables
Tsigareli – are wild greens they saute with onions, tomatoes, and spices.
Agriolachana – are wild greens t they boil and serve with olive oil and lemon.
Roka (arugula) – is arugula with thin slices of onion, tomato, and a few olives. Oil and vinegar for dressing.
Corfiot Vegetable pie – may or may not have a crust. Think pot pie with a vegetable filling depending on what is seasonal. The pie fillings may include zucchini, onions, pumpkin, cheese, or combinations.
Bread
There are two types of baking that Corfu puts their spin on.
Panada – is a barley bread that they fry in olive oil, with onions, tomato paste, oregano, and thyme. It is a snack popular with poor people long ago.
Fougatsa – is the Greek version of brioche or Italian focaccia.
Desserts and Sweets
Mandolato – is a favorite sweet from the Venetians. They mix honey, sugar, and egg whites into a black and white nougat with almonds.
Bianketa – are cookies containing marzipan, almonds, and tangerine peel. They usually have a dusting of powdered sugar.
Sykomaida – is a paste from dry figs, almonds, walnuts, grape must, and a dash of ouzo. After mixing it, they wrap it in walnut leaves and bind with string. It is not very sweet.
Tzaletia – is a yellow cornmeal dough they fry in a shallow pan with olive oil. While hot, they sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon. Think cornbread pancakes.
Kumquats – You can find them fresh in May. The rest of the year, they are candied or in spoon sweets (jam).
Other Desserts with a Corfu Taste Twist
Pandespania (bread of Spain) – are little cakes the Jews bring when fleeing Spain and the Inquisition. They are not bread, but small sponge cakes with a dusting of sugar.
Pudding – with currants or raisins is a leftover from the British.
Pastafrola (jam pie) – may be from the Spanish or Egyptians. It is a thick pastry bottom layer, then homemade jam with strips (lattice) of pastry on top.
Gelato – is from the Italians. The twist on Corfu is that they use the local fruit that is in season. Expect real fruit flavors.
Click the orange link to read more about Greek Cuisine,
Taste Corfu Beverages
Spirits
Kumquat Liqueur – may be a gift from the British. They were the ones responsible for the Kumquat trees in the 1800s. The Kumquat is a member of the citrus family. The outside skin is sweet, but the fruit inside is sour citrus. The liqueur is similar to Lemonchello, (which you can find on the island).
They infuse vodka or pure alcohol with the fruit. Once the liquid reaches the citrus flavor level, the maker adds sugar to offset some of the citrus sour. This liqueur is a taste Corfu offers that no other Greek island does.
Corfu Beer
Greek-owned breweries disappear when beer conglomerates go on a buying spree in the 1960s.
A little behind other countries, Greece began micro-brewing in the late 1990s. By 2006, Corfu opens its first microbrewery. (You can still get the stuff from northern Europe, but you’re not in Amsterdam.)
As of the summer of 2019, there are two beer breweries on the island producing around twenty different beers. Some are seasonal. Most of their beers are available around the island.
Tsitsibira – is Corfu’s twist on Ginger Beer, another gift from the British. The unique taste comes from adding yeast to a mixture of water, sugar, lemon juice, and ginger. As it ferments, it produces CO2, which gives the beverage its refreshing feel. Taste Corfu’s ginger beer.
Corfu Wine
Wine? When did Corfu start producing wine? Well, Homer talks about wine from Corfu in the Odyssey.
Like most of the Roman Empire, Corfu went through a lot of wine. It was safer to drink than polluted water. When the Venetians arrive, they rip out the vineyards and plant olive trees.
Today, there are only a few areas on the island growing wine grapes. (sad.) Due to the small number of grapes, there are few wineries. (Sadder.) However, the few wineries do most of the work by hand, making delicious local wines. Also, they do not add chemical additives. (Happy!)
In recent years, there are now commercial wineries. (Happy-sad.)
Corfu is in the Ionian Islands wine region. Corfu is most of this wine region. Cephalonia and Lefkada are the only other islands producing more than that required for local consumption.
The island produces more white than red wine. Most of the white-wine production takes place in more level terrain in the middle and west. The red grape varieties grow in the hilly north that provides more shelter from the winds and sun.
Corfu receives much more moisture than the Greek islands in the Aegean, partly due to winds off of Africa. The limestone helps to moderate the soil’s moisture, especially in the dry summer months.
There are no P.D.O. Wines on the island. However, the island has its regional wine appellation for whites. It requires that white wine must contain a minimum of 60 percent Kakotrygis grape to call itself Corfu wine.
White Grapes.
Kakotrygis – is an ancient Greek variety only growing on Corfu and mentioned by Thucydides. It has a light yellow color, good acidity, is aromatic and refreshing. It can be sweet or dry.
Robola – is a Greek grape that grows well in Corfu. It has a pale yellow color, good acidity, and is also aromatic. The bouquet can include hints of hazelnut and citrus fruit.
Moschato Aspro – produces a light, fragrant sweet white wine.
Red Grapes
Petrokorythos – is a local grape producing a dry and crimson wine. Most wineries use it for blending.
The good news, recent interest in the Ionian wines is helping to reintroduce other indigenous grapes to the local wines.
You need to sample Corfu wines now and go back in ten years to see where they are.
Taste Corfu Summary.
Are these all the traditional foods and wines of Corfu? Hardly!
But these will keep you busy for a few days and give you an insight into the local cuisine.
So many people try to visit Corfu for a day and leave with the wrong impression.
Why not plan to spend 3-4 days and see, experience, and taste Corfu.